GrantAdvisor UK, an online service that collects reviews of the experiences about applying for funding from foundations, is seeking funding to create a sustainable service.
The service has already been trialled in the UK, facilitated by CAST in partnership with Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and other grantmakers.
The Indigo Trust funded the now completed pilot and 15 grantmakers were involved.
There are now recommendations in place for the next phase of development for GrantAdvisorUK, with a two-year plan to create a sustainable service.
Two-year development phase
It is now seeking funding of £75,000 per year for a two-year development phase.
Among other aims, this would enable the further technical development of the platform.
To meet this budget, GrantAdvisorUK is seeking contributions of £5,000 per year for one or two years, from 15 founding funders or partner bodies. These funders may or may not have been involved in the pilot.
Over this two-year period, a tested sustainability model will be established to ensure that GrantAdvisorUK is not reliant on grants. The site would always remain free to use to post and read reviews.
Helps funders understand what to change
Funders participating in the pilot have found the reviews useful, average rating of 4.3 on scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is most useful, and have discussed them internally. More than 50% of participating funders had made or were considering changes to their practices as a result of reviews.
Sophie Woodward, head of communications at Paul Hamlyn Foundation, said: “In terms of behaviour change, two main things have been flagged to us to date - we're not always easy to reach by phone, and our application forms take too long to complete - both of which we're trying to change in order to be more responsive.”
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